If you have a child, know a child, or have ever met a child; if you’ve read a book or watched a movie that included one, you will recognize how much changes in that first year of life. That soft pile of flesh, so pliable and yielding at first, changes into a walking, talking being with its own ideas. That floppy, sloppy, glorious smelling baby, the one you checked on six times a night to assure yourself of the rise and fall of breath, the one you cradled so carefully and swaddled so tightly and fed ten times nightly, changes into something almost unrecognizable. Over those 365 nights and days, they fill out and lengthen, they learn to smile and roll and swat, to sit and crawl and pull up, to recognize a parent’s voice, to respond to their own name, to walk and play with language, to emote joy and frustration and love; to experience life. It is 365 days of amazement and exhaustion and worry and joy and a fearsome pride.

I’m not going to (seriously) compare blogging to parenthood, but I am overly fond of metaphor and hyperbole. Today marks one year of Wine and Cheese (Doodles). And like a child that grows and learns, this blog has grown and learned along this last trip around the sun. There have been bumps and bruises along the way, a few scrapped knees and abraded palms, but I like to think what has emerged has enough confidence to toddle off a little bit, to start exploring a little further afield, to stretch those Icarus wings and learn to fly.

I’ve met my own personal milestones along the way. From my husband and mother and sister being the first three people I shyly asked to ‘follow’ me, to a growing number of other bloggers, other ex-pats, other parents and grandparents who have taken the time to read and comment and share. Thank you all. I recently hit the 20,000 view mark, which for a non-specialized blog that tends to be a bit wordy, is pretty damn good, at least to me. I’ve learned to promote myself in a way that’s comfortable. And most important, I’ve kept the blog going, and growing, on my own terms. I still can’t understand the whole hashtag twitter thing properly, but hey, you can’t have everything.

I was hoping, neurotic, control freak that I am, to have the 100th post and the lay-out revamp and the year mark all coincide. It didn’t work out that way, mostly because there were a few posts in there that were screaming to get out when they did. And—deep breath on my end— that’s ok. As much as I like even numbers and tidy edges, when everything is said and done, it’s more important to get it said and done.

MY kind of birthday hat…

Everyone should have something new on their birthday; a card or a flower or just a perfectly timed turn of phrase. So I’ve given the blog a new look. It was sad to say good-bye, but when I sneak a peek at the new, I like the way it’s turning out. It should be easier to leave comments now, and I sincerely hope that you do. I wish I could say I have the next ten posts lined up and ready to go, but I’ve found the best ones, the ones that resonate the most, seem to be the ones that are written off the cuff. So I will trust in those muses a little while longer and see where the next few take me.

When my first son turned a year old, my husband and I celebrated, not only for him, but for ourselves. We had done it, survived the first year, kept him alive and thriving. And while much more muted and subdued, I feel the same kind of satisfaction today. I didn’t kill the blog, it kept on, despite me at times. It learned to walk and to make noises and most of all, let its own personality start to shine through.

Congratulations on persevering through your first year. You’ve kept us all reading and anticipating your next post throughout the year- no small feat! We appreciate your honesty and love reading about the ups and downs and pushing through to make it to this bench mark. Happy birthday WAC(D)!

Upsana, thank you. Truly. I can’t tell you how affirming it is to read those words. It’s always nice to know that people enjoy what you write, but even nicer to know that you’re not alone in what you feel!

Congratulations! I fully understand those control freak urges, but as a reader, I’m more interested in interesting posts than any other symmetry. I’m just glad you’re not writing that it’s been a year, so you’re moving on.

Ah, nothing like meeting someone else who owns up to their own little ‘quirky’ behavior! And I have found one of the nicest ‘side effects’ of blogging is that you get to meet people like you that you never would get to meet in ‘real life’.

THIS IS US… a colorful, collaborative, collection of truth-tellers, soul-sharers, magic makers and game shakers. All that have a unique story to tell, angle to take and position they stand strongly behind.